Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding her Department has secured for flood management and mitigation schemes in rural areas.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is investing at least £10.5 billion until 2036 to construct new flood schemes and repair existing defences, protecting communities across England from the devastating impacts of climate change.
Last October, the Government announced major changes to its flood and coastal erosion funding policy. Our funding rules will support farming and rural communities and improve resilience against flood risk across the country.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has considered the establishment of a cross-border agency to co-ordinate and consolidate the flood response for waterways running through Wales and England.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Although the response to flooding is a devolved matter, during flooding incidents Defra coordinates closely with colleagues in Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales where appropriate.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how the Department plans to reduce the complexity, cost and time for landowners to obtain the required licences to carry out repairs, tree management and flood mitigations on water courses.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government keeps all legislation under review, including permitting, and announced, in its Regulation Action Plan, plans to streamline the process for defining exemptions within environmental permitting. The Environment Agency will be able to exempt certain flood risk activities, making the regime quicker, more flexible and proportionate for low-risk activities.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support the Department offers to both households and businesses who are unable to secure insurance following repeated flood events.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Flood Re, the joint Government and industry scheme, supports households to access floods insurance. Households and businesses can use the British Insurance Brokers’ Association Find Insurance Service and Flood Insurance Directory to identify specialist providers. Parametric insurance can provide business insurance for pre-agreed events, with choices of premiums for multiple levels of risk.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether Companies House is taking steps to protect directors from penalties due to the gap between statutory written options and digital-only guidance.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There is no divergence in the standard of identity verification that must be achieved via the digital, non-digital and hybrid routes. Secondary legislation, Registrar's Rules and published guidance set out identity verification requirements and empower the Registrar of Companies to establish the mechanisms through which this standard can be achieved.
The level of confidence that must be met to provide assurance that a person is who they claim to be is consistent across all routes to verification. The acceptable forms of documentation for each option have been clearly set out in Registrar's Rules and supporting guidance.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether Companies House undertook an equality impact assessment in relation to its changes to the director ID verification requirements.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Equality impacts were considered as part of the Impact Assessment prepared for the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill, which introduced identity verification requirements. It concluded the measures are not expected to have any disproportionate impact on individuals with protected characteristics.
Companies House allow individuals to verify their identity via Authorised Corporate Service Providers, or GOV.UK One Login. Where identity cannot be verified online, users may be directed to complete the process in person at a participating Post Office. Companies House also provides tailored support through its contact centre to assist users who may require additional help.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, on what statutory authority Companies House is able to exclude non-digital in-writing applications for director ID verification.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The statutory authority for Companies House to exclude non-digital applications for identity verification is provided by sections 1068 and 1117 of the Companies Act 2006, which enable the registrar to impose requirements as to the form and manner of the delivery of applications via the registrar’s rules. Individuals can verify their identity through Companies House routes or via an Authorised Corporate Service Provider. The verification process has been designed to be as straightforward and accessible as possible and where identity cannot be verified online, users may be directed to complete the process in person at a participating Post Office.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total proceeds of fines on water companies have been since the Treasury announcement on 30 November 2022 that they would be reserved for river restoration; and how much has been spent for this purpose.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Water Restoration Fund, which launched in April this year, is reinvesting water company environmental fines and penalties into projects to improve the water environment. A total of £11 million has been made available for local projects in regions where fines and penalties have been issued between April 2022 and October 2023. The application window for the Water Restoration Fund closed on Friday 7th June and we are currently reviewing applications. The Government is committed to restoring and enhancing the water environment in England.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of direct trains from London Paddington to Hereford have been cancelled in the last six months, by (a) day of the week and (b) time of day.
Answered by Huw Merriman
In the last six months, 44 direct trains from London Paddington to Hereford have been cancelled, and 18 part-cancelled usually meaning termination at Worcester or Great Malvern. This equates to proportions of 4.55% on Mondays, 5.68% on Tuesdays, 10.12% on Wednesdays, 11.73% on Thursdays, 14.04% on Fridays, 10.19% on Saturdays and 16.33% on Sundays. The greatest proportion of cancellations by time have been seen during the hours of 0900-1000, 1100-1200 and 1900-2000. I have asked Great Western Railway to write to you directly with the full set of data in due course.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, of the cancelled direct train services between London and Hereford in the last six months, what proportion of cancellations were caused by matters relating to (a) Great Western Railway and (b) Network Rail.
Answered by Huw Merriman
In the last six months, 9.94% of Great Western Railway’s (GWR’s) direct London to Hereford services were cancelled. GWR confirm that 38.7% of these cancellations were caused by matters relating to Network Rail, and 3.8% because of other train operators. I have asked GWR to write to you directly with the full set of data in due course.